Intertwined
by Asagi Tsuki
Summary: Why does Haruka let Kantarou break his seal? What had let them meet? It’s their intertwined fate


**Intertwined**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Summary: why does Haruka let Kantarou break his seal? What had let them meet? It's their intertwined fate

Note: I used the name Makoto, but it's not Makoto. It's Kantarou in the past, so don't mistake that Makoto with the Makoto in my other fic, okay? This fic also centers around Haruka and the past Kantarou, so don't feel strange, okay?

Disclaimer: I don't own Tactics

**Story**

It was a calm evening, too calm even. Birds flew by and crickets were hopping all over the forest, letting a summer atmosphere surround the particular forest. It wasn't summer, but the heat and the noise made people think it was summer.

Though it was still ancient Japanese, people lived in harmony. None had ever thought of war, rebellions and such, so they lived peacefully, helping each other as much as they can.

A man with short silver hair and ruby eyes were walking down a path in the middle of a dense forest. The forest was a shortcut from the village to his house, and he'd taken that path for so long that he himself didn't even remember.

He came to a stop when he saw someone sat on a tree, on one of the tree's branches. He was wearing a cloak that he thought he had ever seen before, but he forgot where, and he was wearing a pair of geta.

"Ano, aren't you going to fall down if you sit on _that_ branch?" he asked as he looked up, staring confusedly at the man who was sitting on the branch.

"I won't," the man replied coldly, brushing back several raven black strands that covered his sight. After a while, he sensed that the silver haired man was still staring at him, and he was getting annoyed.

"What do you want?" he asked as he jumped down from the branch and turned around to face the silver haired man.

"I was just wondering if you'd fall down," the silver haired man shook his head.

"And if I do?" the man with raven black hair asked, sounding unhappy.

"I'll be there for you," the man with silver hair grinned, the wind played with his hair. His yukata sleeve was swaying, following the wind.

"Strange human," the man snorted.

"Aren't you human?" the man with silver hair asked as he raised an eyebrow. He knew that he had seen that kind of cloak somewhere in his study as a folklorist and an exorcist, but he couldn't remember well where had he seen it.

"I'm not," the man said, "I'm a tengu,"

"Oh right! So that's why I thought I've seen it somewhere!" the man snapped his fingers and made the other man surprised. "You're the ogre-eating tengu, am I wrong?" he asked.

"No, it's ogre-eater not ogre-eating, because I'm not eating any ogre right now," the ogre-eater tengu nodded his head slowly. Why was he telling this human who he is? He somehow felt that he could trust this particular human, unlike the other humans.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ichinomiya Makoto," Makoto said as he held out his hand towards the ogre-eater tengu.

The ogre-eater tengu stared warily at his hand, before he accepted it.

"Do you think it's strange to call you ogre-eater?" Makoto asked, "I'll call you Haruka from now on then, but that doesn't necessarily be your name," Makoto beamed at him. "Ara, I have to go home now, bye for now," he saw the sun nearly set, and rushed down the path that led to his house.

Haruka stared at him, and mumbled, "Strange fellow," he stopped, then asked to himself, "Have I just called him a fellow?"

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Ichinomiya-sensei," a man called, "Thank you for your help today," he bowed to show his respect to the silver haired man though he was older than him.

"Ah, it's my duty," Makoto waved his hand, "I'll be going home then," he excused himself and walked out of the village area and into the forest that was his shortcut.

He stopped to look upwards to the sky when he felt small droplets of water fell down from the sky. "Ara, and it was so clear when I left the village," Makoto sighed. He was preparing to run when he saw white fabric dangling from a branch. He looked upwards and saw Haruka sitting on that branch.

"Oi Haruka!" he shouted, getting the other man's attention. "What are you doing up there? Are you in love with that branch?" he asked teasingly as he sheltered himself under the tree Haruka was on.

"What do you care?" Haruka asked back, not even looking down at Makoto.

"Aren't you going to get sick if you sit there through this rain?" Makoto asked, hints of concern clear in his voice. "Want to come over to my house?" he asked, smiling at the other man.

"Hn," was all he said as he jumped down and stood beside the shorter man, and probably younger.

"Come on, it'll be harder anytime soon," Makoto tugged at Haruka's sleeve and ran through the forest, closely followed by Haruka who ran through the forest carefully so that he wouldn't get tripped over the roots of the trees.

They arrived at Makoto's house just when the rain had gotten hard. They shut the door and sighed, thankful for being inside where it's dry and not wet.

"Do you want to take a bath?" Makoto offered. "You'll get sick if you don't," he lectured as he led the way to his room.

"Aren't you the one who will catch a cold?" Haruka asked, rolling his eyes.

Makoto simply chuckled at the remark. "Oh, is the ogre-eater actually concerned about me?" he laughed. "My house's a bit small, but please make yourself at home," he said, smiling softly at Haruka.

"Whatever you say," Haruka grunted. He sat on the tatami and leaned on the wall. "You take a bath first," he told Makoto and sat there, cross-legged, unmoving.

"Okay," Makoto nodded. "Are you staying the night?" he asked.

"I'll stay until the rain stops," Haruka answered, looking out through the glass window and to the tall trees outside and the droplets of water.

"Then I hope the rain doesn't stop until tomorrow," Makoto mumbled, taking a set of dry clothes and a big white towel from the cupboard.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Haruka asked, staring at the ghost buster.

"Nothing," Makoto said as he walked out of the room and downstairs towards the bathroom.

"I guess I'll stay tonight," Haruka mumbled to himself. He wanted to scold himself for being so weak. Why was he being so kind towards a human? A mere _human_?

He sighed, and continued to stare at the rain, wishing that it wouldn't stop until tomorrow.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Since then, they had been seen together. Be it when Makoto was going to exorcise by requests, when Makoto was going shopping for food, when Makoto was studying at his study, and others.

Haruka knew he has softened, but it was only to one human, so he supposed that it wouldn't hurt. He even liked the name Haruka. He once asked Makoto to give that name to him, but Makoto refused. He said that one day, someone would give that name to him, but he didn't tell when, and who.

Until now, it had always bugged his mind. He certainly didn't like other humans, so it made him uncomfortable.

"Thinking about something, Haruka?" Makoto asked as he walked into the room, carrying two bowls and a bottle of sake. "Here, it's for you," he said as he gave one of the two bowls to Haruka who accepted it.

"Thanks," he murmured as he let Makoto pour some sake into it. They were in Makoto's room, staring at the moonlit starless sky through the window in his room.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Makoto asked as he sighed dreamily. "I've been living on my own for so long," he started, "And I like your company,"

"Same goes for you," Haruka replied, sipping from his bowl. His. Makoto had given it to him, and so it was his.

Makoto laughed softly, "Thank you," he smiled serenely, watching the moon that decorated the dark night sky.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Ne, Haruka, what do you want for dinner today?" Makoto asked as they stood in front of a grocery store, scanning the pile of food on the rack.

Haruka kept silent. He looked at the food and sighed, "I eat most things, it's up to you,"

"Then let's eat chairs for tonight!" Makoto exclaimed, grinning widely at Haruka who could only roll his eyes. How wrong of him to say that. "C'mon, don't be that inconsistent," Makoto frowned suddenly.

"I'm not inconsistent," Haruka stated, defending himself. "Soup," he said, "But you'll have to cook it,"

"Okay, but if we are sent to the hospital in the case of food poisoning, don't sue me, okay?" Makoto laughed and started to buy things they'll need for the soup.

"I'm so going to sue you," Haruka mumbled to himself. It had been the fifth week since they first met, but it felt like they've known each other for almost one year now.

Whenever people see them together, they wouldn't ask. It had been like a natural occurrence to see the pair walking everywhere together, and it would be strange if they're not together.

A man with long raven black hair stared, before he approached a villager and questioned about the silver haired man.

"Oh, it's Ichinomiya-sensei, he's a famous exorcist," the villager said, "He'd been seen together with that man lately, he lives at the cottage across the forest there," he said, pointing at the general direction of Makoto's house.

"Thank you," the man muttered his thanks and walked away, following the pair before him.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Yes? What is it?" Makoto asked as he opened the door, Haruka standing behind him. He saw a man with long raven black hair before him.

"Ichinomiya-sensei, correct? I've got a request for you," he said as he bowed down to show his respect. "I want you to exorcise an _oni_ near the shrine there," he explained.

"Okay," Makoto nodded his head then turned towards Haruka. "Haruka, you stay here," he ordered. Somehow he had the feeling that he shouldn't bring Haruka along with him.

"I'm going," Haruka stated calmly.

Makoto kept silent for a while, contemplating. "Fine, but be careful," he warned as he turned to follow the man with long raven black hair. And unknown to them, the man was smirking.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

When they had arrived at the shrine, they were confused. No trace of oni was found, and the man had suddenly disappeared in the darkness of the night.

"Where is he?" Makoto asked as he looked around, trying to spot the man who had led them to the shrine, Haruka following suit.

"I'm sorry, but humans aren't destined to be with tengu," a voice said out of nowhere and it echoed throughout the grounds of the shrine.

"Where are you?" Makoto demanded as he looked around frantically.

"Calm down," Haruka stated as he put a hand on Makoto's shoulder and closed his eyes, before opening them again, adjusting his eyes with the darkness.

"A tengu who is a threat to humankind," the voice stated once again, and out of nowhere again, "Has to be sealed," it finished.

"He isn't, and he doesn't!" Makoto shouted, standing in front of Haruka.

"Why do you defend him?" the voice asked, "You are human, and he is a tengu," it explained, "You two are never meant to be together,"

"I don't care!" Makoto shouted, "It doesn't have anything to do with me!"

"Too bad, I'm destined to seal them away, no matter what you say," the man with long raven black hair said as he suddenly appeared in front of Makoto.

"MAKOTO!" Haruka shouted as he tried to stop the man but the man was faster. He hit Makoto and sent him flying towards the forest.

"Haruka!" Makoto shouted as he got up to his feet, but fell down when he felt pain in his right ankle. "Stop!" he shouted at the man but he paid him no heed.

"Onikui tengu," he said calmly, "You'll be history," he said, and a bright halo appeared below Haruka, pieces of rocks starting to gather around him.

"Haruka! No!" Makoto shouted, trying to go towards Haruka, "You can't be sealed now! You haven't eaten my soup yet!" he shouted, more frantic this time, as tears started to roll down his eyes.

Haruka laughed softly. Really, Makoto could be so strange sometimes. How could he still talk about food at this kind of time?

"I'm sorry," Haruka murmured, knowing that the seal would be finished anytime soon, "I'm really sorry, but I really enjoy your company," he finished, and with that said, the seal was complete.

The man put a paper seal on the stone, and turned towards Makoto. "I'm sorry, but I have no use of you right now," he said almost apologetically as he put a sleep spell on Makoto.

"What…" he trailed off as he slowly fell into a deep slumber. The man bent down and picked him up from the ground, before he walked back to Makoto's house.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Several hundreds of years later…

A silver haired man finally broke his seal, and he could see the outside world once again. When he saw the man, he was surprised. 'Makoto?' he asked to himself mentally, but when he saw the shrine near his seal was already worn out, he knew it wasn't him. Maybe it was the one who Makoto was talking about.

He sighed in relief, and after answering yes to the question of the silver haired man who asked whether he is the onikui tengu or not –he wanted to say that he has a name but then remembered that he doesn't-, he said, "You, human, who had broken my seal and gave me my name, is my master,"

He stared at the man for a while. So this is the one Makoto was talking about. He looked exactly like Makoto that it gave him the creeps. Maybe he's one of the descendants of Makoto or something.

He kept staring for a while, before he spoke up, "Can you make soup?"

**End of Story**

Aw, this story is made long before **My Lucky Number is Twenty One**, but I stopped at the point where the man was smirking. I didn't know how to continue, and I wrote that fic first. I've finally had the chance to finish this, though it was a bit rushed, I know. The ending was supposed to be like that so please don't protest. I know it's lame and corny, but bear with it.

This is some kind of a prequel to the original anime, but Haruka doesn't really ask whether Kantarou could make soup or not, so don't mind that line, okay?

Hope you enjoy, and if you do, please leave a review. Thank you.


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